For the tenth year, the County of Grimes just had its annual checkup by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, whose rankings take a yearly snapshot at the health of every county in the country.
And, although Grimes is ranked in the lower half of Texas counties overall, foundation Senior Policy Officer Giridhar Mallya says there’s a few areas in which it excels.
He mentions high school graduation rates in Grimes are at 90 percent, which is slightly higher than the Texas-wide average, and Grimes also ranks slightly higher for hospitalization rates for health issues that are preventable, like diabetes and asthma.
And noting that social and economic factors have the biggest impact on their findings, Mallya tells Navasota News some things still need improving here.
According to their statistics, Mallya says Grimes’ unemployment rate is at 6.7 percent, which is two percentage points lower than the state-wide average. He also points out that their data shows only 42 percent of Grimes residents have attended some college, whereas it’s 60 percent state-wide.
The foundation compiles and distributes this data every year, Mallya explains, with the hope that local officials will turn it into action.
For the complete results, visit countyhealthrankings.org.